Posts Tagged by Sophie

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I had a request yesterday to do a post on how we started solids with Emmie. Since this is a post I have been intending to do for awhile, I thought what better time than the present! We have been introducing solids now for just over a month and Emmalyne LOVES to eat! We got the go ahead from our pediatrician at her 4-month appointment. I waited until we came back our trip to Phoenix to start so Em was actually closer to 5 months when we started. In the weeks leading up to our decision to start solids we started watching for the “signs” that Em was ready.

Signs We Noticed:

Em was increasingly interested in our food and would “chew” as she watched us eat

She could sit with minimal support

She turns away when she is full

She started waking up more at night and nursing more frequently during the day

Purees vs. Baby Led Weaning

There are a couple methods you can use when introducing solids. The first is my introducing pureed baby food and spoon-feeding your child. The second, is baby led weaning. Baby led weaning is essentially allowing your baby to experience food in their “whole” form … this allows them to experience the actual texture of food. The baby also feeds themselves and dictates how much they eat, hence being “baby-led”.

We opted to do a combination of sorts. I am a little hesitant to completely skip purees (not sure why really) but intrigued by the concepts of baby-led weaning. Therefore I am kind of doing both? Haha. For example, in the morning I slice up bananas and allow Emmie to feed herself while I eat breakfast with her. Lunch is typically a puree mixed with oatmeal. Dinner can be one or the other. I will say that she is having a BLAST feeding herself and it is definitely helping with her hand-eye coordination. At the same time, girl LOVES her purees. SO I think we will stick to doing a little of both for the time being

Pureed Peas Please

Bananas for the win

*Interested in Baby-Led Weaning? Check out Brittany’s blog! She’s doing it with her daughter

First Foods

I bought the book 201 Organic Baby Purees and I highly recommend it. The book breaks down its chapters into age and provides recipes appropriate for each stage. There are a ton of run combinations in there and I am excited to introduce Em to some of them. Wholesome Baby Food is also an incredible online resource. It is REALLY important to wait at least 3 days after introducing a new food so you can watch for an allergic reaction. As you know, I have multiple allergies so I am really playing by this rule for Em. She has had the following foods … in this order:

Organic Oatmeal

Avocado

Peas

Bananas

Squash

Sweet Potatoes

Apples

Making Baby Food

I am making all of Emmie’s purees at home and I plan on doing a more detailed post on our adventures of baby food making in the near future. In regards to ingredients, I am trying to buy organic when it comes to “The Dirty Dozen“. I buy either frozen or fresh vegetables and either steam or roast them until tender. Then into my food processor they go, add some nursery water, and combine until smooth. Easy peasy

Traveling/Eating Out

We do have a few jars of Earth’s Best baby food for our move to Savannah. We are going to try to salvage my stash of homemade baby food via a cooler but we wanted a back-up plan in case the cubes turn to mush en route. When we go out to dinner I either order her a plain sweet potato or a side of avocado and she is good to go

Unrelated Side Note

Chris found a Sophie giraffe at the track last night and he immediately recalled my Sophie incident. Turns out it belonged to his friend’s wife who got hurt while working out and left without grabbing the giraffe. Sophie has since been returned to her rightful owner.

What kinds of “Emmie’s Eats” posts would you like to see? Do you have any questions you want me to talk about?